Welcome to the Team!

The National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) welcomes Paul Porter, Ph.D., to the NSDA team as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The NSDA is continuously transforming its organization to reflect and operationalize the values of equity, integrity, respect, leadership, and service. As our Director of DEI, Dr. Porter will seek to expand the involvement of students and coaches from traditionally marginalized and disenfranchised groups in speech and debate, to provide new opportunities for these groups to play a larger role in NSDA decision-making and strategy, and to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for meaningful participation in speech and debate.

Dr. Porter holds a B.S. in Communication Studies from Ball State University, an M.A. in Communication and Rhetorical Studies at Eastern Michigan University, as well as a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Indiana State University. Dr. Porter has worked on the development of programs and initiatives designed to help create inclusive environments for diverse student populations, as well as diversity strategic plans and program assessments. He has presented on topics such as multicultural competence and unconscious bias across the state of Indiana and nationwide.

Dr. Porter’s involvement in speech and debate began at Ben Davis High School where he was a two-time NSDA national finalist in 1997. Paul was also a national finalist at the 2000 National Forensic Association tournament and has coached at both the high school and college levels. In 2017, Paul coached a national finalist in Original Oratory at Ben Davis and most recently served as an assistant coach at Bishop Dwenger High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Since 2017, the NSDA has outlined annual equity commitments that serve as specific immediate steps the organization will take to better reflect its core value of equity. These equity commitments are inspired by recommendations from coaches’ caucuses, feedback from teacher and student members, and their own lived experiences. The NSDA is proud of the strides it has made in this area but knows there is much work left to do.

Dr. Porter will work to inform and develop culture-building practices that have a global reach, consistently engaging with and supporting a large and diverse collection of students. He will work closely with the Executive Director, Board of Directors, staff, partner organizations, and a broad audience of stakeholders including coach caucus groups and students, to plan, execute, and capacity-build toward a comprehensive plan focused on infusing DEI into each aspect of the organization. Dr. Porter starts in late May 2022, in time to attend the National Speech & Debate Tournament in June 2022.

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About the National Speech & Debate Association

The National Speech & Debate Association is the largest interscholastic speech and debate organization serving middle school, high school, and collegiate students in the United States. The Association provides competitive speech and debate activities, high-quality resources, comprehensive training, scholarship opportunities, and advanced recognition to more than 150,000 students and coaches every year. For 90 years, the National Speech & Debate Association has empowered more than 1.5 million members to become engaged citizens, skilled professionals, and honorable leaders in our society. For more information, visit www.speechanddebate.org.